News Releases

High Winds Still in Forecast, Southern California Edison Crews Responding to Customer Outages as Quickly and Safely as Possible

December 16, 2011

Media Contact: Media Relations, (626) 302-2255

ROSEMEAD, Calif., Dec. 16, 2011 — With strong winds continuing this afternoon and evening, Southern California Edison (SCE) reminds its customers outages might occur and to never approach or touch downed power lines. If you see a downed line or dangling wire — even if it appears not to be live — don’t touch or approach it and call 911 immediately.

As of 3:30 p.m. PST, approximately 12,820 SCE are without power in SCE’s 55,000-square-mile service territory. Approximately 1,015 customers in the wind-battered regions of San Gabriel Valley are affected, as well as 3,085 customers in Orange County.

SCE has activated its Incident Command System to manage the wind storm restoration effort. SCE damage assessment crews are in the field, as well as SCE’s construction crews, to quickly and safely restore power to customers. In addition to SCE’s regular Orange County construction crews, several SCE crews from outside the area have been deployed to help with the restoration effort and additional crews are on standby if more outages occur.

SCE is also reaching out to local elected officials and community leaders to establish clear channels of communication. The most up-to-date information will be shared with the community throughout the storm. SCE also will provide the latest information about outages at www.sce.com and on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/SoCalEdison.

The National Weather Service is forecasting strong winds in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties through Saturday, including in the mountains, passes and canyons.

Customer safety is a top priority for SCE. Here are important tips to keep in mind:

Watch for traffic signals that may be out. Approach those intersections as four-way stops.

Make sure you have a battery-operated radio and flashlights. Check the batteries to make sure they are fresh. Use flashlights for lighting during a power outage; do not use candles because they may pose a significant fire hazard.

Do not use any equipment inside that is designed for outdoor heating or outdoor cooking. Such equipment can emit carbon monoxide and other toxic gases.

If you use a generator, place it outdoors and plug individual appliances directly into the generator, using a heavy-duty extension cord. Connecting generators directly to household circuits creates “backfeed,” which is dangerous to repair crews.

Leave the doors of your refrigerator and freezer closed to keep your food as fresh as possible. Place blocks of ice inside to help keep food cold. Check food carefully for signs of spoilage.

About Southern California Edison
An Edison International (NYSE:EIX) company, Southern California Edison is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities, serving a population of nearly 14 million via 4.9 million customer accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within Central, Coastal and Southern California.